Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist March 2019

SPECIAL REPORT term mobility programmes. This has largely been fueled by the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan which aims to encourage people-to-people linkages between young Australians and other young people in the region. Hundreds of Australian university students travel to India every year on short- term programs to learn about and experience India. Educational linkages and collaborations have increased dramatically over the past few years with most Australian university seeking to form strategic partnerships with quality Indian institutions. As a result, academics are beginning to see value in research collaboration – the recent tie-up between the University of Queensland and IIT Delhi, and the link between Monash and IIT Bombay are great examples of this. The fact that Deakin University has had a presence in India for almost 25 years is also indicative of the fact that Australian education institutions see the value in investing in India’s future. Education is a key facet of the Australia- India relationship. One of the significant challenges that India faces is in higher education. The Indian Government has promoted policies to skill the younger population, both in terms of vocational education and higher education. This presents Australian institutions with a unique opportunity to collaborate with India. While the USA and UK have historically been the preferred choice of many aspiring Indians for higher education, the changing political landscapes and visa policies in these countries have made Australia an even more attractive option – especially since Australia boasts some of the leading universities in the world. As Indian students graduate from Australian universities, people-to-people and institutional linkages will only become stronger. Tourism between Australia and India is also on the rise, with more than 300,000 Indians visiting Australia in 2017, an increase of more than 15 percent from the previous year. Other cultural aspects have the potential to foster stronger ties. For instance, Australia and India share a love for the sport. Numerous Australians cricketers have a high proﬁ le in India and continue to engage with India even after their retirement. While cricket 20 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 3 • March 2019, Noida is the obvious synergy in this regard, there is a growing interest in other sports across borders. India has an Australian Football League (AFL) club which plays in the Australian Football International Cup, for example. An Australian team competed in the Kabaddi World Cup in India in 2016. Food, cinema, and the arts should not be overlooked when it comes to soft power diplomacy. For instance, MasterChef Australia is very popular in India, and the show probably boasts more viewers in India than in Australia, in absolute terms. The Indian Film Festival in Melbourne and the Jaipur Literature Festival’s collaborations with various Australian literature festivals, as well as many other growing collaborations in the arts have been encouraged by Government and also continue to grow organically. A number of institutions promote the Australia-India bilateral relationship and have played a leading role in bringing the countries closer together. The Australia India Institute, the Australia India Youth Dialogue, The Centre for India Australia Studies, the Australia India Business Council each operate independently of the respective governments but are important stakeholders in the bilateral relationship. Conclusion As the Varghese Report aptly states, “[t] he Australia India relationship has had false starts in the past but that must not distract us from the opportunities of the future.” It appears that strategic interests, in particular, have converged, encouraging stronger cooperation between India and Australia. In addition, the huge economic potential and complementarities in the bilateral relationship mean that Australia and India are natural economic partners. If Government and Business can capitalize on the strong and growing people-to-people links, deeper ties are inevitable.  * The author is the Executive Director of the Centre for India Australia Studies, Assistant Dean and Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University and Co-Founder of the Australia India Youth Dialogue.

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